Composed stars ready for anything
GLENDALE — For the members of the Crescenta Valley Junior baseball All-Star team, it’s about remaining composed.
That’s the message Coach Peter Cosfol planned to get across to his red-hot team that’s fresh off winning the District 16 championship.
Cosfol will find out how his team responds when it meets District 51 champion Tehachapi in an opening-round game of the Section 2 Tournament at 2 p.m. today at Tehachapi Little League Fields.
“We want to keep the wheels going,” said Cosfol, whose team wrapped up the District 16 crown with an 11-2 win against Burbank in the if-necessary championship game at Tujunga Little League Fields on Monday. “We are ready to play and we just want to stay healthy and be focused.”
Crescenta Valley will make the long journey to Tehachapi armed with a strong lineup and clutch pitchers who will look to get through the four-team tournament, which will also feature District 17 champion San Marino and District 40 representative Encino. San Marino will compete against Encino in a first-round contest at 2 p.m. today.
Cosfol said he isn’t concerned with not being familiar with any of the other teams in the tournament.
“We don’t know anything about them and they don’t know anything about us, unless somebody scouted us,” Cosfol said. “It’s just about us being composed.
“We have a solid group of guys who know how to play well.”
Crescenta Valley will rely on pitchers Christian Castaneda and Kevin Hello to provide a lift.
The Crescenta Valley lineup will feature, among others, Jacob Martinez, Jacob Cook and Zach Burch.
Castaneda, a right-hander, who can also play around the infield, said the competition will be excellent.
“We expect to be facing even better teams,” Castaneda said. “Our strength is our pitching and hitting.
“Pitching wins games. We need to step it up on defense and we should be good.”
The championship contest will be played at 6 p.m. Tuesday and an if-necessary contest would take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The winner moves on to the Division III North Tournament, which will also be held at Tehacapi Little League Fields.
